iPhone Cantonese Appli

The best way to improve your foreign language skills is to stay in touch with the language and culture all the time! We live in the age of information technology and there are many helpful and fun tools out there. I think the following iPhone "cha chaan teng menu" application is really cool :)

http://itunes.apple.com/app/hong-kong-style-cafe-food/id324829367?mt=8

As you can see from the photo, it shows both English word and Cantonese word (incl. Pin Yin & Chinese characters) AND how to pronouce the word in Cantonese with sound.

Always try to order in Cantonese when you are in Chinatown!

China & Taiwan 'first joint dictionary' BBC article

I found this article by Cindy Sui (BBC News Taipei) very interesting. Basically it's about how Mandarin Chinese is evolving separately in Taiwan and the mainland, over the last 60 years, and how different the two are becoming:

"When it comes to speaking, while both sides use Mandarin Chinese as the official dialect, they say even simple words like rice, hot water, and panda differently -

"mi fan," "bai kai shui," and "xiong mao" in China, versus

"bai fan," "re shui" and "mao xiong" in Taiwan.

These differences might seem slight, but some are not. In China, you refer to your spouse as your "ai ren", but that means your lover in Taiwan."

Also, of course, Taiwan and Hong Kong use Traditional characters and the Mainland uses Simplified characters: the article shows the examples below: 

Apparently "40 million non-Chinese nationals are learning simplified characters... 

and 30 million people use traditional characters daily" -Wow!

This bit amused me too:- "I don't really like to write Chinese characters; it's very tiring," said eight-year-old Lee Mi.

LOL I know what you mean kid, it takes me ages to write in Chinese too :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13467598

Summer Term - Intermediate (Level 3) Speaking Classes

Intermediate Speaking Classes are scheduled for the following dates (all on Wednesdays unless otherwise specified) @6pm at the Camden Chinese Community Centre.

• 18th May 2011
• 25th May
• 1st June
• 8th June
• 15th June
• 22nd June
• 29th June
• 6th July
• 13th July 
• 20th July
  

This term's tuition fees will be £106 (for 10 classes).
If you're interested in coming along to a class don't feel like you need to wait till September or to the beginning of a 'term' just let PuiPui know (your first lesson's FREE!) and thereafter you just pay your 'share' of room hire and teacher's fee.

Level 2 classes May 2011

The Level 2 Class (Summer Term) begins Wednesday 11th May 2011 8-10pm meet SiuMay at Pret across the road from Russell Square tube station.

If you're not a complete beginner to Cantonese; maybe you've done some classes before or spoke a little gwong dung waa with your parents as a child, but your understanding is limited and you're not a fluent Cantonese speaker, then maybe level 2 is for you.

Contact puipui to discuss further or leave your comments below

Level 2 Summer term dates

The Level 2 Class (Summer Term) begins Wednesday 11th May 2011 8-10pm meet SiuMay at Pret across the road from Russell Square tube station. 
All classes are Wednesdays unless otherwise stated:

• 11th May 2011
• 18th May 
• 25th May
• 1st June
• 8th June
• 15th June
• 22nd June
• 29th June
• 6th July
• 13th July 
• 20th July

Carlos Douh on YouTube

I'm really inspired by this guy's Cantonese, he does weekly videos of Hong Kong slang on YouTube.

This one is about Gung Jyuh Behng:- Princess Sickness, slang for a really spoilt & demanding girl!